Hye Jin’s POV

I stare at Young Jae as he realises what he says. He shakes his head and I have to look away so that he can’t see the red creep into my cheeks. What am I doing? All of this talk and assumptions that Young Jae and I like each other after only knowing each other a day is messing with my head. 

“That’s not what I meant.” he says, gaping. Before he can say anything else the teacher walks in and I can see him face palm himself out of the corner of my eye. I have to bite my lip to stop myself from laughing, but I’m pretty close to pulling my hair out too. 

I can’t be developing feelings for Young Jae. It’s too soon. Well, technically it’s right for me to move on but I only just met him yesterday. It doesn’t matter if we get along like we’ve known each other forever or that he has an amazing smile. I mean... Kim Hye Jin, you have to stop this right now. 

We get through classes without saying much more to each other and at lunch time the class room is raided by the two boys again. 

“Hey Noona.” they say simultaneously before sitting in the same seats they sat in yesterday. 

“Hey. You guys okay now?” I ask. They tilt their heads, looking confused. “You guys were pretty hysterical this morning.” 

“Oh…” they exchange glances and start to giggle again. Young Jae clears his throat and we all turn to him. 

“H-How was class guys?” he asks the two younger boys sitting in front of us. They both shrug and get started on their lunch. I laugh at the look on Young Jae’s face at the failed attempt of starting a conversation. I laugh to myself and he turns to me, slightly blushing. 

“You should know better than to ask boys how class was - especially kids you tutor.” I say. He laughs, a little awkwardly.

“Hey! We aren’t kids.” Bam Bam says, a piece of rice stuck to his upper lip. I reach over and wipe it off.

“Of course you aren’t sweety.” I say, wiping my fingers on a napkin and then reaching over to ruffle his hair. He smiles and then looks at Young Jae.

“I like her.” He says, grinning. Young Jae reaches over and pokes him in the forehead. 

“Keep eating.” he says. 

“Defensive much?” Yu Gyeom says, without looking up. Young Jae and I stare at him, eyes wide. He looks up at us and freezes. 

“Keep eating.” I say, in the same tone Young Jae used on Bam Bam. The two boys lean towards each other. 

“Bam Bam, they even speak the same.” Yu Gyeom says, and Bam Bam nods silently. 

Young Jae and I sigh simultaneously. We whip our heads to look at each other, surprised by how in sync we are. We stare at each other for a bit before bursting out into laughter for the nth time that day. Bam Bam and Yu Gyeom join us until Young Jae and I exchange a look and stop, turning to glare at them. The two younger boys’ laughter dies down before they quietly go back to eating. Young Jae holds out his hand to me under the desk and I give it a slight tap. The two boys look up again and we both put on our serious faces again. 

The rest of the day goes by uneventfully. I’m about to leave at the end of the day when Young Jae stops me. 

“Are you going to pick up Tae Jin?” he asks, I nod. “Can I come too? It’s on the way, anyways.” 

“Sure.” I say, slinging my bag onto my shoulder. “Let’s go.” 

We walk side-by-side out of class. 

“Where are the two minions?” I ask, wondering why we’re being left alone. 

“They have basketball training.” he says. 

We continue walking in a somewhat awkward silence. 

“Oppa!” I groan, recognising all too clearly that voice. We turn to see Na Ri, running over to us. She glances at me and she hesitates for a millisecond before running straight up to Young Jae, clutching onto his arm. “Where are you going? Aren’t we going to watch a movie?” 

“Um - I never said I could go today.” Young Jae says, glancing at me for help. I stay silent, watching the scene. 

“But Oppa~” she croons. “You promised.” 

“I don’t remember.” he mumbles. 

“That’s why I’m reminding you. Let’s go.” She goes to pull him away but I grab his other hand. Na Ri looks at our linked hands and glares at me. She genuinely looks like she’s about to chop off my hand. “What are you doing?” 

“Young Jae already promised to come with me.” I say, standing my ground. 

“Where to?” she says, through gritted teeth. 

“Well, actually he promised my little brother that he would come over and play with him today.” I say, emphasising the words ‘come over’ just to annoy her. 

“When did you meet her little brother?” she asks, looking at Young Jae. 

“Uh-uh.” he stutters, turning to me with that same look of desperation on his face. 

“Yesterday.” I answer for him. 

“I thought you were tutoring Yu Gyeom and Bam Bam yesterday?” she asks. Man this girl just won’t quit. 

“It was after that. He came around after he tutored them. We don’t live that far away from each other.” I say. “Young Jae-yah, we need to go. My brother is probably waiting for us.”

“R-R-Right.” he says, he pulls his arm away from Na Ri’s grip. “Let’s go.” 

We turn around and walk away from Na Ri, leaving her fuming. I can literally see steam coming out of her ears. 

“Why don’t you just tell her you don’t like her?” I ask him as we make our way towards Tae Jin’s kindergarten. 

“I have. Does she seem like the type to care?” he says, rubbing the back of his neck. “Why do you help out all the time?”

I look at him and he looks down at the floor. 

“Don’t get me wrong. I’m grateful that you do, but I’m just curious as to why.” he says. I think for a moment. Why do I help him?

“I don’t know.” I say, shrugging. “I just get annoyed whenever she comes over and just assumes she can get everything she wants. That’s not how life works. You need to put a stop to it before she turns into a stalker.” 

Young Jae starts laughing and I turn to glare at him 

“I’m being serious Young Jae.” I say to him. 

“That’s a bit of a stretch isn’t it?” he says. 

“It could happen.” I say, shrugging. 

“Noona!” I look up, realising we’ve reached Tae Jin’s kindergarten. I smile as he runs up to me and stops in his tracks when he notices Young Jae beside me. I see him looking between us and I follow his line of sight to where our hands are, still clasped together. We both realise at the same time and quickly let go, clearing our throats as we do so. I go over to Tae Jin and kneel down, matching his level. 

“How was your day?” I ask him. He smirks at me and I know exactly what he’s thinking. 

“Probably not as good as Noona’s day.” he says. He takes my hand as I stand up and then he heads over to Young Jae who is still standing in the same spot, waiting for us. “Hello again, hyung.”

“Hey buddy. Had a good day?” Young Jae says, ruffling his hair. 

“Yep. Hyung just made it better too.” he says, smiling up at him. 

“Me? How did I do that?” he asks. Oh dear. He should know better than to ask children questions. 

“Because you are Noona’s boyfriend now.” he says, shrugging.

“Yah Kim Tae Jin!” I say, pulling him towards me and covering his mouth. He pulls my hand off of his face, laughing. 

“Ah… Tae Jin-nie, hyung will carry your bag for you.” Young Jae says, pulling the bag off of his shoulders and holding it by the handle in one hand. Tae Jin takes the other hand and pulls us both in the direction of home. 

Young Jae’s POV

I carry Tae Jin’s backpack in one hand and hold one of his tiny hands in the other, the awkwardness between Hye Jin and I impossible to hide. I glance at her and she mouths a ‘sorry’ to me. I shake my head, indicating it’s okay. But really, it’s not. How could we not have noticed that we were holding hands the whole way? And why did I feel intimidated by the 6 year old walking by my side? I have no idea how to break away from the fact that there might be something between us. Is that even possible? We’ve known each other for all of two days. 

“Hyung.” I feel Tae Jin, pull on my arm and I look down at him. “Where do you live?” 

“Do you remember where we met this morning?” I ask him and he nods. “Just near there.” 

“Mmm… then does that mean you won’t be going all the way to our house?” he asks. I look up at Hye Jin, who chuckles.

“You have to stop looking at me like that.” she says. 

“Like what?” 

“Like a lost puppy.” she says. She looks down to Tae Jin. “Tae, it’s probably a good idea that Young Jae doesn’t come over, don’t you think?” 

“But, why? I want to show him my toys.” he whines. We stop walking as Hye Jin leans down to whisper something in his ear. His face drops and I look at Hye Jin questioningly as she stands up again. She shakes her head and I nod, knowing not to ask. “Sorry, hyung. Maybe you can come over another time.” Tae Jin says in an upset tone. 

“Cool. Maybe I can bring over some of my toys too.” I tell him. He looks up at me with wide eyes. 

I hold up his Transformers backpack. “I have some Transformers toys that want to make new friends.” 

“Really?” His face breaks into the biggest smile I’ve ever seen. He turns to Hye Jin. “Do you hear that Noona? He has Transformers toys. I definitely approve. You have to be good to hyung otherwise I’m going to be very angry with you.” 

“What if Young Jae is bad to me?” Hye Jin asks. Tae Jin tilts his head, thinking for a while. 

“He won’t do that. He has Transformers toys. It means he’s a good person.” he says, smiling. Hye Jin scoffs. 

“Do you hear that?” I say, proudly. 

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s go.” she says as we start walking again. We reach the spot where I met them this morning and I look down the turn that leads to my house as Hye Jin stops walking. “This is you, right?”

I nod. She holds her hand out, indicating Tae Jin’s backpack that’s in my hand. I go to hand it to her when Tae Jin stops me. 

“Can’t hyung just walk us to our house? He doesn’t have to come in.” He whines to Hye Jin. “Please, Noona.” 

She looks up at me apologetically. “Tae, Young Jae has to get home. He has a lot of homework to do.” 

“But Noona -“

“It’s okay, Hye Jin-ah. Tae Jin-nie, hyung will walk you home.” I say, earning a smile from the little boy. He let’s go of Hye Jin’s hand and pulls me forward before she can change her mind. 

“You’re the best hyung.” he says, once we’re a fair distance away from his sister. 

“Slow down, Tae. We can’t leave your sister behind.” I tell him. He slows down his pace and looks behind him. Hye Jin is running after us and finally catches up. 

“We’re gonna have to have a talk when we get home Tae.” she says, panting. She reaches her hand out for him to take but he holds my hand with both of his, hiding behind my arm. 

“Hyung…” he whimpers. 

“It’ll be fine, Tae. Let’s get you both home, hmm?” I say, looking down at him. He nods and leads the way again, Hye Jin walking beside us. I look over at her and give her an apologetic look. She shrugs. 

We arrive outside their building and Tae Jin is still reluctant to let go of my hand. 

“Come on, Tae. Say thank you to Young Jae and let’s go inside.” Hye Jin says. He slowly turns to look up to me. 

“Thank you for walking us home, hyung.” he says, pouting. I ruffle his hair as I lean down. I hand him his bag. 

“Hey, don’t be upset buddy. I’ll see you again soon.” I say to him. He nods and then steps forward to wrap his arms around my neck. I’m a bit taken aback but I hug him back. 

“What if she yells at me, hyung?” he whispers in my ear. 

“I’m sure she won’t. I’ll talk to her, okay?” he nods on my shoulder before letting go. 

“When is soon?” he asks me as I stand up. I look over at Hye Jin.

“How’s this? I’ll meet you at the same spot every morning and walk you to school. Deal?” I watch as his face lights up. 

“Young Jae, you don’t ha-“ Hye Jin starts. 

“That would be awesome! Thanks hyung. Do you promise?” he holds out his pinky to me and I cross my pinky with his. “Will you walk us home too?” 

“When I can, I will. Sometimes I have to go to my friends house after school, but when I’m going home, I’ll definitely walk you.” I tell him. I look over at Hye Jin. “Is that cool?” 

She shrugs, and I laugh. “Don’t be too hard on him, yeah?” 

“Thanks, Young Jae.” she says, taking Tae Jin’s hand. “See you tomorrow.”

I watch as they walk into their building. Tae Jin keeps turning back to wave at me and I wave back. Once they’re both in the building I turn around and head home. 

A few weeks pass and I’m waiting down the street from my house. We have a routine now and I walk with Hye Jin and Tae Jin every morning. 

“Hyung!” I turn and see Tae Jin running up to me. I bend down as he opens his arms, and I mirror his action. He jumps onto me, wrapping his arms around my neck. I pick him up hugging him close. 

“I think he likes you more than me.” Hye Jin says as she reaches us. 

I go to put him down but he wraps his legs around my torso. I laugh and alter his position so it’s comfortable for me to hold him. 

“Tae, Young Jae is going to be tired. Hop down.” she says. 

“No, it’s fine.” I say, as I start walking. “How are you, Tae Jin-nie?”

“Noona got angry at me yesterday.” he says, pouting. I turn to Hye Jin and she has a look of disbelief on her face. 

“I did not!” she says. She reaches out and starts to tickle Tae Jin. He flails in my arms and I struggle to keep him steady. 

“Hyung! Help me!” he screeches, cackling hysterically. I turn my body to dodge Hye Jin, but it only results in her tickling me instead. We spend a few minutes on the pathway squirming away from Hye Jin’s attacks. 

“Tae Jin-nie, hold on!” I yell as I break out in a run. 

“Choi Young Jae! Get back here!” I hear her yelling behind us. We arrive at a crossing and I have to stop. Hye Jin catches up and stops to catch her breath beside us. 

“Truce.” I say to her and she nods, waving her hand in my face. 

“I don’t have the energy anymore.” she pants. I laugh. 

We go the rest of the way to the kindergarten making small talk. We arrive in front of the kindergarten and I put Tae Jin down. 

“Thanks, hyung.” he says, giving me a hug before going to his sister. “Love you, Noona.”

“Love you, Tae. I’ll see you after school.” she says. 

“Hyung, are you going to be here too?” he asks me. 

“Of course I will be.” I tell him. He waves to us and runs into the building. 

As we walk towards the school I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn to look and Hye Jin is squeezing the arm I used to hold Tae Jin most of the time. 

“Sorry about that.” she says. “Your arm must be sore.” 

“It’s fine. I really like him. Kids don’t usually like me.” I laugh. 

“Tae doesn’t usually open up to people so easily. I’m surprised he is so comfortable with you already.” she says. 

“Really? He liked me from day one though.” 

“Exactly. It usually takes him months to be comfortable around people. He got close to you in days.” she says, letting go of my arm. 

“It must be my irresistible charm.” I say, leaning towards her. She looks up at me with a horrified look and I wink. She starts to make retching noises and we both start laughing. 

“I see the two of you together a lot these days.” Hye Jin and I stop walking and realise we’re in front of the school, with a very annoyed Na Ri in front of us. 

“Is there a problem with that?” Hye Jin asks, stepping forward. 

“Yes there is! I was so close to making Young Jae Oppa mine and then you come along from god knows where and ruined everything! I spent 6 years trying to make him notice me and it’s been all for nothing!” she stomps over to Hye Jin and stands uncomfortably close but Hye Jin doesn’t back away. “I’m going to make you regret choosing to transfer here.” 

“Of course your efforts have gone to waste, you just threatened your crushes friend. Right in front of him. How do you think he thinks of you know?” Hye Jin counters, raising an eyebrow. 

Her words hit Na Ri like a ton of bricks. I watch her expression change as she turns to look at me. She plasters a fake smile on her face and looks up at me. 

“Oppa…” I look at her in disbelief before putting a hand on the small of Hye Jin’s back.

“Let’s go Hye Jin-ah.” I say, pushing her to walk away. 

“Oppa, wait!” she calls. I push Hye Jin once more towards the gate, making sure she’s still walking away before turning onto Na Ri. 

“Stay away from her.” I say through gritted teeth. “It’s fine if you want to bother me with your crap but I swear to god Kwon Na Ri if you so much as lay a finger on Hye Jin I will never speak to you again.”

I turn around and chase after Hye Jin, leaving a crying Na Ri at the gates.

A/N: Hooray for updates! I feel like the next best thing to seeing 'New story comments' is seeing 'New story updates' so I will try to have those words appear on your screen as much as possible. :)

Welcome to the new subscribers :) 

Thanks for reading and commenting :D 

xoxo